Home Design: What's Your Story?

Houzz Contributor. My name is Bud Dietrich and I am an architect located in the Tampa Bay area of Florida. I am licensed to practice architecture in Illinois, Florida, New Jersey & Wisconsin. Since 1996 I have worked from my home office and provide full architectural services exclusively to the single family residential market. My passion is to transform my clients' houses into their homes. I strive to have the "new" home accommodate my clients' lives without fighting them at every junction. I look to add curb appeal to encourage a beautiful streetscape. And I design any addition to look and feel like it has always been there.
Our projects have won numerous design awards as well as having been featured on television (CBS News Sunday Morning, HGTV, CLTV, etc.), in magazines (Better Homes...

Houzz Contributor. My name is Bud Dietrich and I am an architect located in the Tampa... More

At my house, we are totally enjoying the new season of Parenthood on NBC. Watching all the interactions of parents, grandparents, siblings, and cousins reminds us of our own family and all the joy and angst that families bring.

But I have to admit, once again, that one of the aspects of the show I really like is the set design. It's the way each home tells us about who these people are. There's Zeek's and Camille's hippie-chic style; Adam's and Kristina's updated traditionalism; Julia's and Joel's jettisoning of the past for the new, and Crosby's bachelorhood.

The designers have done a remarkable job portraying the cast — even without seeing actors in these settings we know a whole lot about the characters they'll portray.

So how do we get our houses to tell our story? How can people learn about us even without having met us? Let's take a look.

Zeek and Camille's home isn't quite as "high style" as this but it does have the same sense of a life well lived with its collection of meaningful objects.

Tomar Lampert Associates

Nor is Zeek's and Camille's home as rustic as this (though it does seem that it could have been in an earlier time). In fact, we get the sense that Zeek and Camille were no strangers to Haight Ashbury.

Zeek's and Camille's oldest daughter, Sarah, has moved back in with her parents after a stormy marriage. Proof that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, Sarah is certainly comfortable in the familiar surroundings of her childhood home.

Adam's and Kristina's updated Craftsman home tells us this is a couple as grounded in the past as they are forward-looking. A thick, solid wood entry door with substantial hardware tells us these folks want things that are grounded, while the abundance of wide and handsome white trim tells us they are definitely living in the 21st century.

Though Adam's and Kristina's house is older. it certainly has the updated kitchen with the big island that's now the center of family life. In this home the past and future blend together like the stainless steel blends with the traditionally styled wood cabinetry.

As befits their relationship (Julia is the earner, and Joel the stay-at-home parent), Julia's and Joel's home is all about being new and at the cutting edge. No traditional structure for these two, there's nothing holding them to the past, and their eyes are firmly looking forward.

It doesn't mean Julia and Joel are cool and aloof just because everything in their house is new, shiny and modern. Like the generous amount of wood here, these two are, at their core, warm and interesting people.

Look at the front of your home, the face that you see from the street. If that warm and inviting look you want isn't there, you can change the roof pitch, swap the aluminum for cedar and add a new canopy over the door.

Even items in your bathroom can tell your story. Where is the engraving from? Was the plant stand an inheritance or flea market find? Is the clock in your bathroom an attempt to overcome chronic tardiness?

You can tell your story with photography. I can be large and in a position of prominence and of a cherished family member or two. The visitor has to ask, "Who are these people, and what is your relationship to them?"

I enjoyed this idea book. Really reflects people and the coziness of their lives. I am so bored with all the modern/contemporary styles, it is getting as old as stainless appliances and granite counter tops.